The Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries Series

Mr. and Mrs. North work with the New York Police Department to investigate a hypnotic murder As far as NYPD captain William Weigand is concerned, there’s nothing more inconvenient than a murder victim with a name. Names—not just ordinary names, but boldfaced names—mean headlines, and headlines mean headaches. Prof. Jameson Elwell was a boldfaced name of the first order, a celebrity psychologist who took the unusual step of reporting his own murder. Moments after he was shot, he called the police department, but he wasn’t able to say who killed him before he breathed his last. At least Weigand can be thankful that Jerry and Pamela North aren’t involved yet. Once they learn of the circumstances of Elwell’s death, and hear the rumors that hypnosis was involved, the amateur sleuths won’t be able to help sticking their noses into the case. They may find the killer, but it will all be very inconvenient indeed. Murder Is Suggested is the 23rd book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Mr. and Mrs. North win front-row seats to a murder on Broadway Dorian Hunt intends to marry Lt. William Weigand, and she doesn’t care how many murderers get in the way. Every time they’ve tried to tie the knot, her fiancé has let Jerry and Pamela North sweep him up in another mystery, and Dorian has had enough. Today, she’s demanding a wedding—murder or no murder—but before the couple can find a minister, Lieutenant Weigand gets sidetracked again. A dead man is found sitting in the West 45th Street Theatre, a stab wound in the back of his neck. As Dorian expects, the Norths are tied to the case—Mr. North represents the play’s author—and they plan on helping Weigand solve the caper, whether he likes it or not. The bride-to-be will soon find that solving mysteries is a cakewalk, but getting married can be murder. Death on the Aisle is the 4th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

For Mr. and Mrs. North, there’s no vacation from murder In a remote cabin far from New York City, Jerry and Pamela North are getting killed. On the brink of annihilation, they grit their teeth and battle back. In a minute, the fight is finished—and the Norths are named mixed doubles champions. It’s a happy moment during a splendid vacation, but off the tennis court, all is not well. Following an afternoon of fun and games, the evening’s entertainment will be murder.   Mr. and Mrs. North have invited their closest friends—an ex-aviator, a mysterious doctor, and NYPD’s own Lt. William Weigand—to join them on this glittering retreat, but the joviality ends when Weigand finds Helen Wilson lying across the path, a knife buried in her neck. A member of the group surely killed her, and unless the Norths act quickly, the murderer will strike again.  

While vacationing in Florida, Mr. and Mrs. North investigate a doctor’s murder It’s morning in Key West, and Pamela North has gone fishing for pelicans. Her husband, Jerry, insists it’s impossible to go fishing for birds, but when he finds her later on, she’s surrounded by pelicans on all sides. He shouldn’t be surprised; Pamela has made a career out of doing the impossible—and she’s not finished yet.   A blizzard is battering New York City, but the Norths have come south for sun and sand and a spot of tennis in old Key West. Murder wasn’t on their agenda, but Pamela has a way of finding it wherever she goes. She’s just gone out for another morning of luring pelicans when she finds a local physician at the end of the pier, a bullet in his chest and his blood all over the dock. The birds will have to wait; the Norths are about to go fishing for a killer.   Murder by the Book is the 26th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

At a swanky rooftop restaurant in New York, a pair of husband-and-wife sleuths must find out who spiked a woman’s drink with murder . . .   There’s a stunning view from the top of the Ritz-Plaza Hotel, but it pales in comparison to Lois Winston’s beauty. She arrives on the arm of David McIntosh—an agreeable young man who would marry her if she gave him the chance—to take in the scenery, eat a light supper, and forget the busy world below. Lois’s first cocktail lifts her spirits, helping her dispel the strange sadness that tugs at her soul. But her second drink isn’t so kind. Lois isn’t halfway done with her Cuba libre when her cheeks grow hot, her breath becomes short, and she falls dead to the floor.   Solving the case of this terribly fashionable murder falls to New York Police Department’s Lt. William Weigand, who tackles the investigation with the help of his friends, Jerry and Pamela North. The effervescent couple will catch the killer between cocktails—unless the poisoner targets their glasses next.   “[An] excellent series.” —The New Yorker   “Pam is always amusing.”  —The New York Times

A sophisticated 1930s Greenwich Village couple finds an inconvenient body in their upstairs bathtub in the first installment of an “excellent series” (The New Yorker). Jerry and Pamela North’s upstairs apartment has been empty as long as they can remember. It’s an ordinary Greenwich Village abode, and the Norths are ordinary Villagers—which means they can’t bear to go more than a few days between cocktail parties. So when Pamela decides to stage a soiree in the empty apartment, Jerry goes along begrudgingly. But what seems inconvenient becomes felonious the moment they find a dead man in the tub. He has been bludgeoned, stripped naked, and left to rot. The party is most certainly off. Which neighbor was rude enough to leave a body in the upstairs tub? Though they should know better, Mr. and Mrs. North can’t resist getting involved. Before they know it, they’re right in the thick of a manhunt, and Greenwich Village will never be the same. The Norths Meet Murder is the 1st book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

The sleuthing couple’s hopes for a carefree cruise to Havana are sunk by a killer on board . . . Stepping out of her stateroom, Pamela North is rather disappointed to see a man with a sword. She had hoped this cruise would be a respite from murder, mayhem, and crime, and she finds pirates to be dreary. As it happens, she’s wrong on all counts. The man with the sword is no pirate, and this trip will not offer an escape from death.   As the ship embarks on an eight-day voyage to Havana and Nassau, the Norths will find the sword-bearing gentleman is far from the strangest passenger onboard. The Carib Queen transports daiquiri-swilling dowagers, a bizarre private detective, and at least one jewel thief. And when one of their fellow passengers is found with a sword buried in his chest, Pamela and Jerry must find the killer—or risk spoiling their entire vacation.   A Voyage into Violence is the 21st book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Mr. and Mrs. North seek the killer of a terribly unpleasant society woman Miss Amelia Gipson doesn’t tolerate foolishness. She doubts she’s ever made a mistake, and it’s unlikely she would change anything about her life—even if she knew she was in danger. While researching a famous murder case at the public library, she becomes ill at her desk. Within minutes, she’s dead. Miss Gipson would be pleased with the coroner. He doesn’t muck around when delivering the cause of death. There’s simply no question: She was poisoned. Fortunately, Miss Gipson was one of Jerry North’s authors, which means that the accomplished amateur sleuth has another case on his hands. With the help of his utterly brilliant—if slightly strange—wife, Pamela, Mr. North soon finds that the question isn’t who wanted Miss Gipson dead, but who didn’t. Murder within Murder is the 10th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Mrs. North comes to the aid of a young boy accused of murdering his beloved Cleo Harper is nineteen, and pretty enough to catch any boy’s eye. But when the police find her, there’s a gash in her throat and blood on her clothes. Cleo’s been dead for just a few minutes. She’d been eating lunch in a coffee shop when she was stabbed in the neck, and all the evidence paints Franklin Martinelli as the killer. Every kid in the neighborhood knew he loved her; every diner in the restaurant saw them arguing before she died. To the police, it’s cut and dried. But Pamela North isn’t convinced. A vivacious, if occasionally scatterbrained, amateur sleuth, Mrs. North hears the story straight from her friend Lt. William Weigand, and she doesn’t believe a word of it. Her reasons may not make any sense, but Pamela is determined find the truth, even if nobody understands how she gets there. Killing the Goose is the 7th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When a magazine editor falls from his window, the case lands in the laps of Mr. and Mrs. North The body hits the pavement at 12:25 p.m., but Dorian Hunt doesn’t know a thing about it. She has come to the offices of Esprit magazine to deliver some sketches, and she has a meeting with the art director, Paul Wilming. When his secretary opens the door, Wilming isn’t in his office. He’s not anywhere on the floor. But there’s a cigarette burning in the ashtray, a window open to the sky . . . and a tragedy on the sidewalk below. The case is handed over to Dorian’s husband, Lt. William Weigand, who can’t help but involve the indefatigable amateur sleuths Jerry and Pamela North. In their own particular gin-sodden fashion, they’ll find the hand that pushed Wilming— but can they do it before another body begins the same long, deadly fall?

When an old widow is murdered, Mr. and Mrs. North work to prove a trio of aunts innocent of the crime Jerry and Pamela North have tangled with countless murderers, blackmailers, and thieves, but nothing could prepare them for a weekend with Pamela’s aunts. Thelma, Lucinda, and Pennina sweep into town like hurricanes, and take no notice of the destruction they cause. No amount of martinis can soothe Pamela and Jerry’s rattled nerves, and when the martinis stop working, the Norths are in trouble.   The aunts are in town to see their old friend Grace Logan, a widow whose temperament is as cold as iced gin. But while sipping tea, Grace does something terribly out of character. She seizes up, gasps for air, and dies. When the trio of aunts is implicated in her poisoning, it falls to the Norths to clear their names—and get them out of Manhattan forever.   Murder Comes First is the 15th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Mr. and Mrs. North attempt to solve the case of a New Year’s Eve murder Freddie Haven has just crossed the Brooklyn Bridge when she sees a man she believes to be her fiancé, Sen. Bruce Kirkhill, on the sidewalk, walking alone through one of Manhattan’s vilest slums. It seems impossible that the shabby figure is actually Bruce, and Freddie tries to put the sight out of her mind. She prepares herself for her father’s New Year’s Eve party, and waits for her husband-to-be to arrive. But the senator never shows. Bruce is found dead in a doorway not far from the Bowery. What was he doing in the wrong part of town, and why was he dressed in a bum’s shabby suit? Freddie begs for help from Mr. and Mrs. North, amateur sleuths who catch killers between sipping martinis. But is she ready to discover that the senator had a secret the shadows of the Bowery weren’t dark enough to hide? The Dishonest Murderer is the 13th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When a television hostess is killed in their hotel, Mr. and Mrs. North investigate the murder of America’s girl next door From coast to coast, everyone in America knows the smiling face of Amanda Towne. The most celebrated interviewer on television, she’s a beacon of honesty and warmth . . . when the cameras are rolling. Amanda will do whatever it takes to stay at the top of her profession, and she doesn’t mind stepping on the little people—until the day someone stops her in her tracks. Amanda doesn’t know it, but her decorating advice is the reason Pamela North has decided to repaint her apartment. But when Mr. North comes home and finds the fumes unbearable, the couple checks into the Breckenridge Hotel, whose famous suites are large enough for Pam; Jerry; their cat, Martini . . . and Amanda Towne, whom Jerry finds lying dead on the bed. The story of who put her there is simply unbelievable, even by the standards of primetime television. The Long Skeleton is the 22nd book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When a cat-show judge is murdered, Mr. and Mrs. North are drawn into a hairy homicide There are three things Pamela North can’t resist: cocktails, kittens, and murder. Today, she’ll get all three. Still mourning the death of her beloved cat, Martini, Pamela gathers the strength to attend the fifty-third annual Colony Cat Club championship show, where she meets tomcats and tabbies of every stripe. Each one is more adorable than the last, but one of them might just be worth killing for.   Those who dedicate their lives to breeding felines would do anything for one of the Colony’s blue ribbons. So when one of the judges is accused of corruption, Pamela writes it off as sour grapes. But when the judge is found with his head bashed in and his precious kitties mewling beside his body, Pamela and her husband, Jerry, jump at the chance to investigate. For Mrs. North, this kind of killing is catnip.   The Judge Is Reversed is the 24th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When a paleontologist is murdered, Mr. and Mrs. North go digging for his killer The office of Dr. Orpheus Preson is filled with remains, the bones of long dead dinosaurs. He waves one of them at the NYPD detective, demanding the police stop the person who’s been sending workmen to his house—an endless parade of bricklayers, butlers, French tutors, and tree surgeons, none of whom Preson hired, and all of whom expect payment. There’s nothing law enforcement can do, which means it’s time to call the only two people in New York who can help: Pamela and Jerry North.   A fashionable literary couple who’s made a habit of solving mysteries between martinis, the Norths have known Dr. Preson since Jerry published his first book. The amateur detectives vow to do what they can for the perturbed paleontologist, but it’s too little too late. When Dr. Preson is found murdered, the Norths will find that the poor man had more than one kind of skeleton in his closet.   Dead as a Dinosaur is the 16th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

For the sake of a Broadway hit, Mr. and Mrs. North search for a playboy’s killer Naomi Shaw has taken the stage in Around the Corner one hundred times. And with every performance, she has brought the audience to tears. But while she’s an angel onstage, she’s rather harder to like once the curtain drops. Nevertheless, the play is a hit. The critics are awed, the crowds are lively, the producers are happy, and Around the Corner could run forever—as long as it has its star. At the celebration following the hundredth performance, Naomi announces she’s going to marry one of the show’s backers, slimy playboy Bradley Fitch. He’s rich enough that Naomi will never have to act again, which means that Around the Corner will die as soon as their vows are read. But when someone murders Bradley in order to stop the wedding, it falls to Pamela and Jerry North to find the killer and ensure that the show will go on. Death of an Angel is the 20th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Before he dies, a murdered burglar puts Mrs. North in mortal danger The thief struts toward Broadway, confident his luck has finally begun to turn. Just a few hours earlier, he had been as scared as a trapped rat, cowering in a bathroom, hoping the homeowners would go to bed without finding him. He got lucky, and he got away with his mark: a flimsy little piece of plastic that’s worth more money than he’s ever had at one time. But before he reaches his destination, he’ll be left for dead on the sidewalk. As his last act, he drops his loot in the mail.   The package is marked for Pamela North, the slightly daffy amateur sleuth who always nabs the killer, even if she never quite gets to the point. One man has already died for this mysterious item, and as soon as it lands in her mailbox, she’ll be in danger of joining him.   Death Has a Small Voice is the 18th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A death threat concealed in a term paper brings Mr. and Mrs. North back to campus All semester Prof. John Leonard has directed his lectures at Peggy Mott. Not because she’s beautiful—although that doesn’t hurt—but because she has the sharpest mind he’s encountered in all his years teaching psychology. When she turns in her final assignment, a paper on human emotions, Leonard expects a brilliant essay, but what he reads shocks him to the core: There’s someone Peggy detests. And based on her paper, Professor Leonard believes she hates enough to kill. When Peggy’s husband is found with a steak knife buried in his neck, the comely young student is the only suspect. But Jerry and Pamela North see it differently. Mrs. North has a mind that could drive any psychologist batty, but for the sake of a shining pupil, she’ll find out the truth. Murder Is Served is the 12th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

When their lawyer is murdered, Mr. and Mrs. North find that everyone in Manhattan is a suspect Jerry and Pamela North have targets on their backs. It’s not fair, but that’s what happens when you make a hobby out of catching killers. The murderers get upset, and, well, you know how they are. And with all this homicidal attention directed at the Norths, it’s about time they made out a will. Unfortunately, they have only just started the process when their lawyer is stopped for good, and the sleuthing couple is in trouble again.   Forbes Ingraham is found in his office, a bullet in his head. He was killed just a few yards from the desk of his secretary, which should make this a cut-and-dried case, but the young woman is notoriously unobservant. Discovering who took out the lawyer falls to Mr. and Mrs. North, who must work carefully—lest they should need that will sooner than expected.   A Key to Death is the 19th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Mrs. North must protect her aunt from being poisoned—whether she likes it or not Pamela North has never worried about making sense. When she has a thought, she expresses it, and if no one in the room knows what she’s talking about, it’s no trouble to her. While Mrs. North’s unique style of thought can make her a challenging conversational partner, it also makes her one of the finest amateur sleuths in New York City. But no matter how sharp her wit, she can’t pin down Aunt Flora. An indomitable old woman, shaped like a snowman and just as icy, Flora is convinced that someone is trying to slip her arsenic, and she’ll be very cross if her niece can’t stop the culprit before he succeeds. Aunt Flora stubbornly refuses to let Pamela call in the police, until a suspicious dead body forces them to ask the opinion of Lt. William Weigand. It’s a screwy mystery, and that means it’s perfect for Mrs. North. Hanged for a Sheep is the 5th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

The murder of a notorious practical joker is no laughing matter in this “excellent series” starring a husband-and-wife detective team (The New Yorker). Byron Wilmot will do anything for a laugh. He’s a legend of practical jokes, notorious for once using a dummy to stage a kidnapping so realistic it fooled the police. So when Pamela and Jerry North are invited to a party at Wilmot’s home, Mrs. North braces herself for an evening of snakes in a can, rubber spiders, and the like. But tonight, a murderer will get the last laugh.   When Wilmot’s secretary finds her boss lying in a pool of blood with a knife sticking out of his chest, she assumes it’s just another highly realistic gag. But Wilmot doesn’t move. He’s dead and the Norths will have think quickly if they’re going to find the killer—and make it to the punch line of Wilmot’s last great joke.   Curtain for a Jester is the 17th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Mr. and Mrs. North chase a gunman who killed an author in the middle of his book launch Looking around the Hotel Dumont, Pamela North sees plenty of people she might like to murder. That’s what happens when she’s left alone at a book party, bored to tears. Her husband is a publisher, and when he’s late to an event, all she can do is look from critic to critic and think that, as messy as it can be, homicide has its advantages. She needn’t worry; a good killing will come along soon.   The party to celebrate Anthony Payne’s latest release is just winding down when the shooter strikes. Payne is midsentence when he drops, a bullet hole in his bald head. And with a single shot, there’s more than enough blood to wash away all the evening’s tedium—and send the Norths on the hunt for a long-distance killer.   Murder Has Its Points is the 25th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.  

A Manhattan doctor dies of unnatural causes in this sophisticated mystery starring a sleuthing husband and wife. Dr. Andrew Gordon is an orderly man, and the women who work in his office can predict his movements as regularly as clockwork. So when Grace Spencer enters his office, she expects him to look up and smile, as he does every time she walks in. But this time he doesn’t raise his head. Dr. Gordon is dead. Though he was bludgeoned in his office, just a few feet from where his nurses were working, no one was seen entering or leaving. It’s an impossible murder, and it will take more than a doctor to stop this kind of sickness. Pamela North spots Lt. William Weigand on his way to the crime scene, and she can’t resist tagging along. The doctor’s death is no medical mystery, but this case will be solved thanks to one of the great marvels of the twentieth century: the collective minds of Mr. and Mrs. North. Death of a Tall Man is the 9th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

“One of the funniest and most satisfactory mysteries in this excellent series” set in 1940s Manhattan (The New Yorker). When he saw the Zeroes on his tail, Rick Hunter knew he had two choices: He could land on the carrier, inviting a Japanese attack that could destroy the squadron, or he could take the Zeroes out to sea. He turned away from the carrier, and flew until his tanks were empty, sacrificing himself to save his troop. But his heroism is no comfort to his widow. After less than a year of marriage, Mary Hunter has been left alone. She’s just getting her life back together when death intrudes again. Mary’s still getting used to her new apartment when she comes home to find a dead man on the floor, and the police assume she killed him. To prove her innocence, she turns to Pamela and Jerry North, who will do anything to bring the true murderer to justice—even if it means putting their lives on the line. Payoff for the Banker is the 8th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

A pet-shop owner is killed in his store, and Mr. and Mrs. North take it personally A smart businessman would never think to open a pet shop in the inconspicuous patch of Greenwich Village known as West Kepp Street, but J. K. Halder isn’t here to make money. A millionaire animal lover, he keeps the shop as a hobby, even though it’s fate hangs perpetually in the balance. As it happens, Halder won’t see it through the end. He has just opened the shop for the day when his final customer enters. Halder knows the visitor by sight, and he also knows that nothing he can say will save his life. There are dozens of witnesses to the murder, but luckily for the killer, animals don’t talk. It will take a peculiar kind of detective to unravel this unusual murder, and there’s no sleuth more peculiar than Pamela North. She and her husband love animals nearly as much as Halder did, and they’ll go to any length to avenge his death. Murder in a Hurry is the 14th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

At a banquet in 1940s New York, the guest of honor is a goner: “A genuinely puzzling mystery . . . with the delightful wackiness that has made the Norths famous.” —The New York Times   Tonight, Jerry North faces something so terrifying that no amount of martinis could quiet his nerves: He has to make a speech. He’s introducing one of his authors, Victor Leeds Sproul, a continental novelist whose delicate tales of Parisian life have been selling like hotcakes ever since the Nazis goose-stepped into the City of Light. Crippled by stage fright, Mr. North enters the banquet hall feeling like a condemned man, but he isn’t the one who will die.   Despite his terror, North delivers the speech of his life. But when he introduces the guest of honor, the distinguished author doesn’t stand. Sproul’s eyes jerk open, his chest heaves, and he breathes his last. He has been murdered in plain sight, but it will take the combined genius of Jerry and Pamela North to find out who killed the writer, and committed the unforgivable crime of ruining a perfect speech.   “[An] excellent series.” —The New Yorker   Death Takes a Bow is the sixth book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.